scholarly journals Whole-Language and Item-Specific Inhibition in Bilingual Language Switching: The Role of Domain–General Inhibitory Control

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 517
Author(s):  
Judy D. Zhu ◽  
Paul F. Sowman
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Whole Language ◽  
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Specific Inhibition ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
Language Selection ◽  
Language Control

A prominent theory of bilingual speech production holds that appropriate language selection is achieved via inhibitory control. Such inhibition may operate on the whole-language and/or item-specific level. In this study, we examined these two levels of control in parallel, by introducing a novel element into the traditional cued language switching paradigm: half of the stimuli were univalent (each required naming in the same language every time it appeared), and the other half were bivalent (each required naming in different languages on different trials). Contrasting switch and stay trials provided an index for whole-language inhibition, while contrasting bivalent and univalent stimuli provided an index for item-specific inhibition. We then investigated the involvement of domain-general brain mechanisms in these two levels of language control. Neuroimaging studies report activation of the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), a key region in the executive control brain network, during language switching tasks. However, it is unclear whether or not the pre-SMA plays a causal role in language control, and at which level it exerts control. Using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to transiently disrupt the pre-SMA, we observed an essential role of this brain region in general speech execution, while evidence for its specific involvement in each level of inhibition remains inconclusive.

Inhibitory control predicts language switching performance in trilingual speech production

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
JARED A. LINCK ◽  
JOHN W. SCHWIETER ◽  
GRETCHEN SUNDERMAN
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Control Mechanism ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigated the role of domain-general inhibitory control in trilingual speech production. Taking an individual differences approach, we examined the relationship between performance on a non-linguistic measure of inhibitory control (the Simon task) and a multilingual language switching task for a group of fifty-six native English (L1) speakers learning French (L2) and Spanish (L3). Better inhibitory control was related to reduced switch costs, but only when switching into or out of the more dominant L1, where inhibitory control has been theorized to be most important (Green, 1998). The results provide evidence of a direct link between inhibitory control abilities and language switching capabilities, and suggest constraints on the conditions under which a domain-general inhibitory control mechanism supports language switching.

Examining language switching in bilinguals: The role of preparation time

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHELA MOSCA ◽  
HARALD CLAHSEN
Keyword(s):  
Switching Costs ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Preparation Time ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Mixing Costs

Much research on language control in bilinguals has relied on the interpretation of the costs of switching between two languages. Of the two types of costs that are linked to language control, switching costs are assumed to be transient in nature and modulated by trial-specific manipulations (e.g., by preparation time), while mixing costs are supposed to be more stable and less affected by trial-specific manipulations. The present study investigated the effect of preparation time on switching and mixing costs, revealing that both types of costs can be influenced by trial-specific manipulations.

Role of top-down language control in bilingual production and comprehension: Evidence from induced oscillations

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1041-1063
Author(s):  
Ning Xie ◽  
Baike Li ◽  
Man Zhang ◽  
Huanhuan Liu
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Language Background ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Switching Task

Aims: The present study was designed to investigate the role of language control during simultaneous production and comprehension. Design: Participants completed a set of language background and cognitive skills questionnaires and were randomly divided into pairs. Then, the pairs of participants were asked to finish a joint language switching task while their electroencephalogram was recorded. When one participant was naming pictures, the other one was listening. The language to be used in each trial was specified by cues. Data and Analysis: Response latencies were obtained. An analysis was conducted on induced oscillations in a cue-locked period and a stimulus-locked period. Findings: An analysis of induced oscillations showed that production and comprehension exhibited different delta and theta oscillations, suggesting that cross-modality interference may be caused by joint language switching, and bilinguals employed different degrees of language control in comprehension and production. Furthermore, the cross-person condition exhibited stronger oscillations than the within-person condition, indicating that joint language switching involves cross-person interference and that bilinguals use additional oscillations to inhibit such interference. Importantly, the stimulus-locked period showed larger delta and theta oscillations in second language switch trials than in first language switch trials in the within-person condition, indicating that delta and theta may index the inhibition of cross-language interference. Originality: The current study revealed the top-down language control mechanism by analysing induced oscillations, which reflected a mainly cognitively driven process. Significance: Bilinguals’ language control might be used to inhibit complex interference during daily life.

The unusual suspect: Influence of phonological overlap on language control

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 726-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATHIEU DECLERCK ◽  
ANDREA M. PHILIPP
Keyword(s):  
Switch Cost ◽  
Previous Trial ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
After Effects ◽  
Cost Asymmetry ◽  
Language Control

The present study examined the influence of phonology on language switching. Unlike previous studies that investigated this influence by comparing words that are phonologically similar vs. dissimilar in two languages, the current language switching study focused on the role of phonological characteristics across words. Specifically, words with the first two phonemes being identical to those of the word in the previous trial were contrasted against words without such phonological overlap. The results revealed that the switch cost asymmetry was influenced by phonological overlap. Further investigation revealed that this influence was mainly due to persisting after-effects of phonological overlap, which caused a reversal of the asymmetrical switch cost pattern in the following trial. These results clearly indicate that manipulations on the level of phonology can have an effect on language switching. Therefore, we propose that, in contrast with the claims of most models, phonological characteristics of words play an important role in language control.

scholarly journals Inhibitory control training reveals a common neurofunctional basis for generic executive functions and language switching in bilinguals

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Jing Wu ◽  
Mo Chen ◽  
Guillaume Thierry ◽  
Yongben Fu ◽  
Junjie Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Transfer Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Lexical Selection ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Left Caudate ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task

Abstract Background The neural networks underpinning language control and domain-general executive functions overlap in bilinguals, but existing evidence is mainly correlative. Here, we present the first neurofunctional evidence for a transfer effect between (domain-general) inhibitory control and language control through training. We trained Chinese–English bilinguals for 8 days using a Simon task taxing the inhibitory control system, whilst an active control group was trained with a color judgment task that does not tax the inhibitory control system. All participants performed a language-switching task before and after training. It has been suggested that the activity of the left DLPFC was associated with domain-general top-down cognitive control (Macdonald et al. Science 288: 1835–1838, 2000) and bilingual language control (Wang et al. Neuroimage 35: 862–870, 2007). In addition, the dACC was closely related to the conflict detection (Abutalebi et al. Cereb Cortex 18:1496–1505, 2008). Last, the activity of the left caudate has been linked with lexical selection (Abutalebi et al. Cereb Cortex 18:1496–1505, 2008), especially the selection of the weak language (Abutalebi et al. Cortex 49: 905–911, 2013). Therefore, we focused on these three regions of interest (ROIs) where neural changes associated with transfer were expected to occur. Results The results showed a negative correlation between changes in activation levels in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and changes in the switch cost magnitude in the language-switching task in the training group but not in the control group, suggesting that the DLPFC plays a critical role in the transfer effect from domain-general executive functions to language control. However, there was no measurable effect in the anterior cingulate cortex or left caudate nucleus, suggesting that the inhibitory control training increased the neural efficiency for language production in bilinguals in terms of attention shifting and conflict resolution, but the training did not affect conflict detection and lexical selection. Conclusion These findings showed how cognitive training evidence can help establish a causational link between the neural basis of domain-general executive functions and language control in bilinguals.

scholarly journals The Differential Role of Executive Functions in the Cognitive Control of Language Switching

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Jared A. Linck ◽  
John W. Schwieter ◽  
Gretchen Sunderman
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Global And Local

Studies of bilingual speech production suggest that different executive functions (EFs) contribute to the cognitive control of language production. However, no study has simultaneously examined the relationship between different EFs and language control during online speech production. The current study examined individual differences in three EFs (working memory updating, inhibitory control, and task-set switching) and their relationship with performance in a trilingual language-switching task for a group of forty-seven native English (L1) speakers learning French (L2) and Spanish (L3). Analyses indicate complex interactions between EFs and language switching: better inhibitory control was related to smaller L1 switch costs, whereas better working memory was related to larger L1 switch costs. Working memory was also related to larger L2 switch costs, but only when switching from L1. These results support theories of cognitive control that implicate both global and local control mechanisms, and suggest unique contributions of each EF to both global and local cognitive control during language switching. Finally, we discuss the implications for theories of multilingual language control.

scholarly journals Symmetries of bilingual language switch costs in conflicting versus non-conflicting contexts

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 624-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
CONG LIU ◽  
LU JIAO ◽  
ZIYI WANG ◽  
MENGXING WANG ◽  
RUIMING WANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Context Effects ◽  
Control Model ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Stroop Paradigm ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
The Impact

Previous studies have demonstrated that language switching in bilinguals can be affected by a number of variables, including the processing context. Here, we used a modified language-switching task combined with a Stroop paradigm, which manipulated the context of the task, to examine the impact of processing context on switch costs. The results of both Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 showed that the switch costs and the level of asymmetry in the switch costs are larger in the conflicting context than in the non-conflicting context, suggesting that the processing context affects the switch costs. In addition, the results of Experiment 2 revealed that individual variances in cognitive control capacity also play a role in the overall magnitude of the switch costs. Critically, processing context effects can be modulated by individual variance in cognitive control capacities. The results of this study are discussed within the framework of classic models of bilingual language control (e.g., the inhibitory control model).

scholarly journals Inhibitory Control Training Reveals a Common Neurofunctional Basis for Generic Executive Functions and Language Switching in Bilinguals

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Jing Wu ◽  
Mo Chen ◽  
Guillaume Thierry ◽  
Yongben Fu ◽  
Junjie Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Transfer Effect ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task

Abstract Background: The neural networks underpinning language control and domain-general executive functions overlap in bilinguals, but existing evidence is mainly correlative. Here, we present the first neurofunctional evidence for a transfer effect between (domain-general) inhibitory control and language control through training. We trained Chinese-English bilinguals for 8 days using a Simon task taxing the inhibitory control system, whilst an active control group was trained with a color judgment task that does not tax the inhibitory control system. All participants performed a language-switching task before and after training.Results: The results showed a negative correlation between changes in activation levels in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and changes in the switch cost magnitude in the language-switching task in the training group but not in the control group, suggesting that the DLPFC plays a critical role in the transfer effect from domain-general executive functions to language control. However, there was no measurable effect in the anterior cingulate cortex or left caudate nucleus, suggesting that the inhibitory control training increased the neural efficiency for language production in bilinguals in terms of attention shifting and conflict resolution, but the training did not affect conflict detection and lexical selection.Conclusion: These findings showed how cognitive training evidence can help establish a causational link between the neural basis of domain-general executive functions and language control in bilinguals.

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